Life Force
by EnvyNV
Summary: In which Leo loses one love and earns another. / "And for some reason, his heart felt a lot lighter." One-shot.


Life Force:

In which Leo loses one love and earns another. / "And for some reason, his heart felt a lot lighter." One-shot.

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><p>His vision blurred. His breath unsteady and dangerously quick. His knees buckled, his hands flying to his front to save him from falling completely.<p>

Mother Earth cackled, the golden hills of the horizon overlaid with monsters and her allies, her enemies merely 7 people—the seven most powerful people in millennia; the seven of the prophecy.

His fire had reached no match for the several dozens of creatures lurking in for the kill. His power had been extinguished completely, for that had been the price of surviving.

"Foolish child," Gaea crooned. "Your power—the only thing that you cherished and made you special... gone. Fire is no longer your element, your friends no longer need your presence. It is not too late to become my sacrifice, little one. My allies and I can return your fire to you, return you back your love. The one that your supposed friend had once abandoned and left her with an empty heart."

He felt his friends calling his name, desperately, questioningly, reassuringly. But Gaea's words burned in his head: _Fire is no longer your element, your friends no longer need your presence._

His elf-inspired ears heard their leader, Wisdom's daughter, tell him and the others her plan; but the Earth Mother was not done.

"He left her, just as heroic as the others. He never loved her the way you do, the way she loved him. He had promised her the world and never felt obliged to tell her the truth—of how he would never return, of how he already had his own beloved, of how she could never compare. Join me, Fire... it is what you were meant to do."

"Never," he growled.

"Your friends had already paid their debt, had they not? All because of that blasted Nemesis, one of the gods you are fighting for. The Gods never cared for their children, only given them the burden that is life. The vengeance goddess sent your friends to Tartarus, a place where not even the gods can go. And what is their reward? To fight in this war. Sacrifice yourself to me, Fire. It is the only way to reestablish yourself, after you opened that fortune cookie."

His throat jumped with his gulp, his brain scrambling to think of a way to save his friends. They were currently in a battle for their lives, trying to save _him_ to be able to outwit the Earth Goddess. What good was he? He couldn't even use his fire anymore.

Then the small, almost nonexistent part of his brain that was not glazed over from Gaea's influences reminded him of the prophecy: _To storm or fire the world must fall_.

She kept calling him "Fire," even though his powers had been taken. He had to solve the prophecy if it meant saving Olympus and the world. Yes, the second line was obviously him. But what about the fourth?

_An oath to keep with a final breath_

He remembered something Piper had told him, after they rescued Percy and Annabeth from Tartarus. Something about Percy promising Annabeth they would be together no matter what, about how he wanted a life with her after the war.

He couldn't be that selfish. He couldn't take that away from his friends. They'd been through literal Hell together; if anyone deserved to continue living, it was them.

He'd solved the prophecy.

He gave a prayer to his father, to help him one last time. He knelt down in front of the awaking goddess, as if he was accepting her alliance. But the moment Gaea put her hand on his head, to brainwash him, he lit his whole body on fire.

He felt his skin slowly dissolving, his power of fire resistance gone. Pain erupted from within him, but he made his fire white-hot, not giving up.

His flames had completely engulfed the Earth Mother, her screaming at her servants to help her. It was the first time he had seen the living Earth desperate. An evil smirk appeared on his face. She'd finally gotten what she deserved.

Through his foggy vision, he saw monsters stop in their tracks, watching as their leader and queen decapitate into ash. He briefly heard his friends yelling his name, their voices filled with horror as they knew what would have to happen to save Olympus.

He sighed contently, knowing he'd done the right thing. Darkness took over his vision, and he couldn't see, hear, or feel anything. He knew his body must've burned out completely, for no human or demigod could endure that much heat. And now that his flame-resistance had been taken away, he could not either.

Slowly, he could feel his body again. He opened his eyes. He was in a small rectangular room. The walls were silver and thick, his eyes catching a blinking light from above him. He glanced down. His body was marked with 3rd-degree burns, his clothes rough and black. What had happened? Was he alive?

The doors opened. He realized, stupidly, that this was the entrance to Olympus. His legs carried him to the throne room, none of the minor gods, goddesses, or nymphs acknowledging his presence. Maybe he was a ghost?

His eyes wandered to the middle of the throne room—a young girl. Her almond eyes full of relief and serenity, her caramel hair braided elegantly over her shoulder. Her Ancient Greek chiton glittering and fitting her body perfectly.

Calypso.

"Leo?" She gasped, her eyes full of love.

The former fire-user was in shock. The girl he loved, the one he had sworn to see again, was now in front of him, gasping his name, her voice tainted with the same love he felt for her. It was too good to be true.

"Leo." She repeated, but this time with absolute certainty.

His throat was closed off, as he could no longer speak. He merely opened his arms for her, his eyes shining slightly. She burst into tears, running to him, collapsing into his arms. She kept saying the word 'sorry' thousands of times.

He finally found his voice again: "Calypso? What am I doing here? Not—not that I didn't want to see you, or anything, I just... um—"

The titanness giggled. She smiled up at him. "It's alright. I understand what you meant. And I do not know. The god, Apollo, brought me here a while ago. He simply said that this was the last opportunity. I don't suppose you know more?"

"No. 'The last opportunity'? That doesn't sound good. But I'm glad you're here. It makes everything better."

Her cheeks turned pink and she leaned in and kissed him. Time stopped, all he could feel was her lips on his, so soft and plump. He was already stunned at how she loved _him_ over everyone else. They were definitely missing out.

A clearing of someone's throat made them both pull away.

"Hm?" he mumbled drowsily, his brown orbs still closed. He heard Calypso giggle again, adding as a bonus.

"I am here to bring you to the Underworld." A deep voice said.

He opened his eyes. The man who spoke was wearing a black robe-like thing that slid all the way to his feet. Underneath was a black shirt with the name of a heavy metal band he didn't know of, classic rocker jeans, and surprisingly expensive-looking Italy-imported business shoes. (What? He paid attention... sometimes.) The man looked like a cross between an old 80's rock fan and Zeus after coming out of the shower.

Above his neck, were black eyes, black shoulder-long hair, and chalky-white skin. He realized that this guy looked like a split-image of Nico di Angelo; and with another shock, realized this was the very terrifying demigod's father. [Styx!]

From beside him, Calypso flinched, her warm hazel eyes now filled with terror. "No! You can't take me to the Underworld! I-I-I don't belong there!"

He gripped her tighter, his eyes hardening at the sight of the god. He didn't care if who was in front of him was an actual Olympian, no one—_no one_—would hurt the girl he loved.

"Not you sweetheart," Hades said. "The other one."

The other—? No. No, no, no! It couldn't be! He'd just gotten to see her again! It couldn't end this way! It wasn't fair!

Then suddenly it hit him. Apollo's warning: _The last opportunity_. It would be the last opportunity to see Calypso and interact with her, before he went to the Underworld. His suspicion had been correct—he was dead.

He would have to leave the girl he loved behind because his lifeline was finally cut, the Fates had decreed it. Couldn't they just give him a break?!

Hades smiled sadly, as if detecting what he was thinking. "Heroes' lives are rarely happy, peaceful. Sorry, demigod. But you are dead. Your heart stopped beating and Gaea went back to sleep. You've been dead for longer than you think."

He was terrified of the answer, but he asked anyway, "How long?"

"3 days. Your friends are burning your shroud as we speak."

"Show me," he demanded, needing to know how Camp Half-Blood was taking his death.

The god shrugged and lifted his arms. Shadows swirled from around him and formed an interacting rectangle. Images floated around before coming into place.

It was indeed Camp Half-Blood. The Athena Parthenos standing proudly above everything, exactly like Zeus's Fist, being hailed above everything in its respective cabin.

The campfire was depressing, but not as low as it once was. Many were crying, or had emotionless masks. A coffin-like thing was in front of the crowd, shifting colors from blood red, to rusty brown, to neon yellow.

His old friend, Piper, was on her feet, with a torch in her hand. Tears streamed down her face but she took a deep breath. She dipped the torch so that the tip grazed the beautiful shroud, it instantly going up into flames. Leo was touched when, at one point, the fires formed the words, _Flame on, Leo!_ in big red letters.

Tears developed in his eyes and the image turned into darkness, fading into the air. Calypso was sobbing into his chest as Hades looked sympathetic, as if he'd gone through something like this before. He doubted it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, knowing he would have to leave.

"No, no, no, no! You promised!" She cried.

He kissed her forehead. "I know," he sighed. "I know."

"You died! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm in Olympus, Island Queen, I didn't realize."

She nodded into his chest. "I forgive you. Just... promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Men had been sent off to my island every hundred years—the Fates making me fall in love, and then making them leave me of some sort. I've always been bitter toward those who had captured their hearts before I. I always wanted a man just to myself." She took a deep breath. "And now I realize I don't want that."

"What do you mean?"

"What I _mean_ is, I don't want to hold you back. I can tell you are thinking of waiting for me, but believe me, I will never get into Elysium. I am no hero like you are."

"What are you talking about? Of course you are!"

Tears flooded her eyelids. "No, you—you don't understand, Leo! I've done horrible things in my lifetime, including cursing one of your friends. The best I can do is Fields of Asphodel."

"You cursed—? Nevermind that, I love you, Calypso! I don't understand what you're saying."

"I want you to move on," she said as if those words were painful. "I don't want you to wallow in Elysium, waiting for me when I will never join you. I want you to consider being reborn, find someone else! Please Leo. I've been heartbroken too many times, but this time your heart is breaking with me. I do not want this to go to waste."

He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "But Calypso—"

"Please Leo," she begged. "Do—do it for me."

He didn't think he could ever find someone like her again, but if she wanted him to... "Alright," he managed, "for _you_." He kissed her one last time. "I love you Calypso."

She smiled through her tears. "I love you too."

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><p>Elysium was boring. His heart was still broken and he didn't get invited to all the "amazing parties" that his brother, Beckendorf, had. He'd discovered his dead sibling quite quickly.<p>

He said goodbye to all the friends he made in Elysium but knew he was doing the right thing. He looked at the Lethe and took a deep breath. _For Calypso_, he thought, before wading into the river.

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><p>"We have decided for you to keep your identity—your name, your looks—but you will have no memory of your past life. Your friends, your beloved, all those memories will be wiped away. However, since you chose rebirth, we assume you knew that already. We have given this offer to only one other person, whom we believe you will get along with quite nicely. You are mortal in your next life, so you will not have any opportunities to remember your life before Elysium. Good luck, demigod-turned-mortal. We know you will need it."<p>

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><p>He sighed into his hand as his head started throbbing. His dyslexia always seemed to get in the way in his schoolwork, no matter what. His roommate, Tyler, had it worse, though—dyslexia <em>and<em> ADHD? It's a mystery how he ever made it to 11th grade.

He went to a school for troubled kids, from his history with being kicked out of school. His parents always just roll their eyes at it and send him to another boarding school. He didn't think they cared anymore.

The bell above the door rung, and for some strange reason, he felt compelled to look up. He caught his breath. Silky black hair, coal black eyes, and a silver aura surrounding her. She was the most beautiful he'd ever seen. He was confused when his heart suddenly became heavy after thinking that.

She didn't look like she was waiting on someone; just a regular girl ordering lunch. He called over the waitress, "Ma'am? Yes, uh, can you, um, give that girl anything she asks for? On me."

The blonde-haired woman smiled, knowing exactly what he was attempting. "Sure, sugar."

Once the girl had received her drink, she looked up, confused. He strained his ears to hear what she had to say. "Um, excuse me? I didn't order this."

"Compliments of that nice boy, over there." The woman pointed in his direction. The girl looked over and her mouth turned up in a smile. She beckoned him over.

He grinned and walked over. "Hey," he said, sitting down.

"Hi."

"I don't think I've introduced myself." He stuck his hand out, his smile never wavering. "Nice to meet you. I'm Leo Valdez."

She giggled, taking his hand and keeping it in hers. "Nice to meet you. I'm Bianca di Angelo."

And for some reason, his heart felt a lot lighter.

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><p><em>Who knows how long<em>  
><em>I've been awake now?<em>  
><em>The shadows on my wall don't sleep<em>  
><em>They keep calling me<em>  
><em>Beckoning...<em>  
><em>Who knows what's right?<em>  
><em>The lines keep getting thinner<em>  
><em>My age has never made me wise<em>  
><em>But I keep pushing on and on and on and on<em>

~Nothing Left to Say Now by Imagine Dragons

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><p><strong>This was a random one-shot because I am SOOOO conflicted over who I ship more: Caleo VS Lianca (Leo X Bianca)! I just dabbled in it one time and then discovered how freaking adorable they could be. And this one-shot is kind of a combination of both Calypso and Bianca liking Leo so...<strong>

**This did NOT come out as planned. Calypso was supposed to side with Gaea or something and Zeus would have to punish her so Apollo would bring her in to say goodbye and say that was her final wish (to see Leo again) and then he'd be all depressed and meet the reborn-Bianca and... yeah. Leo was never supposed to die and the other members of the seven were never supposed to be mentioned or Hades or some random kid I named Tyler. *pants* Okay, done rambling!**

**Welp, not exactly. If you've read any of my work, then you'd know that I am in the Austin & Ally fandom AND PJO. But for some reason I CANNOT WRITE ONE-SHOTS FOR A&A! I have too many ideas that go too deep into detail and I don't wanna waste a good storyline...**

**Gah. And I'm running low on inspiration and this came out also 'cause I'm an expert procrastinator. And so... I have no idea what else to say.**

**WAIT! Those of you who know me from A&A, I'm sorry I kinda disappeared on you. I just have no simple ideas I can turn into one-shots like this, so I haven't posted anything. Also, I'm having an inner battle with myself, as I have a PJO story planned (and am working on) and I don't know which A&A story to do next. One is a crossover (I have a bad feeling that if I change it it'll come out like...um, little kids are reading this. Sorry) and the other I have no clue how to start.**

**To top it off, my oh-so lovely father stole my computer that I saved ALL my plans and chapters on it; and I have to beg him not to delete them.**

**But, I'm happy 'cause I'm getting better at doing 2,000 to 3,000 word chapters. It might not be long to some, but I'm pretty happy with it. And I don't like to spend very long on one chapter 'cause then I feel like I'm wasting time.**

**Disclaimer****—**

**Annabeth: So, you're saying that we're **_**make believe **_**characters from some book?**

**Me: Yep. Pretty much.**

**Percy: But we're standing right here! We're REAL!**

**Me: To fangirls, yes, you're real. But to 'normal' people, you're just book characters.**

**Clarisse: Then why are you writing about us, punk?**

**Me: 'Cause I'm insane like that.**

**Piper: Uh... why am I here?**

**Me: *shrugs* In my mind, where crazy things happen, you're my 'character BFF'. In which, my make-believe best friend.**

**Piper: Oh.**

**Annabeth: Moving on! We ARE real!**

**Me: If you say so... I have blackmail on all of you.**

**Clarisse and Percy: No, you don't! *look at each other* *disgusted***

**Me: *stifles laugh* Yeah, I do.**

**Piper: What blackmail?**

**Me: I can easily write a fanfic where Annabeth is girly, Clarisse is lovesick, Percy is a bad boy****—****which now that I think about wouldn't be so bad****—****and Piper... well, Piper, you're okay. I won't be that mean to you.**

**Annabeth and Clarisse: WHAT?!**

**Percy: *thinks* *tilts head* Huh... **_**me**_** a bad boy...**

**Piper: Aw! Thanks!**

**Me: Yep. I've actually had some ideas of the whole 'Mortals Meet Demigods' thing. Btw, this idea is kind of mine, please don't steal it: Mortal, his friends and Annabeth go to his motorcycle-riding competition, when Annabeth finds out that Percy is entered in it too. BAM! Bad boy!Percy engaged!**

**Percy: *pops collar* Huh. That actually wouldn't be a bad look for me...**

**Annabeth: *blushing like crazy* *muttering* Not gonna say anything... not gonna say anything...**

**Clarisse: *gags* Great. Nice job, Prissy. You made Princess into a girly mess.**

**Piper: Actually I think that was Envy. Everyone knows Percy doesn't have an ego.**

**Percy: *blushes***

**Me: *grins* Clarisse, if you say the disclaimer, you don't have to watch girly!Annabeth and sort-of-has-an-ego!Percy anymore...**

**Clarisse: Done! Okay... never done this punk's disclaimer before... Um, Envy doesn't own anything you recognize. She doesn't own Nothing Left to Say Now but she recommends Imagine Dragons because THEY ARE AMAZING! She only owns the storyline and someone named Tyler.**

**Me: *snaps fingers***

**Everyone: *disappears***

**OH! Before I forget, those of you who are in A&A fandom (yes I do talk about it a lot. Sue me.) I realized something pretty insane. Rick says that some guy named Austin is in the Apollo Cabin as in THE GOD OF MUSIC!**

**When I realized it all I thought was, "OH MY FREAKING GODS!" It's official: Austin Moon is a demigod. BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE BOOM! (Hehe, I have stolen some very strange catchphrases, haven't I?)**

**Sop! (Just **_**so **_**with a 'p' at the end.) I have just told you my amazing discovery... now I must go... before the FBI come hunting after me... you have been warned...**

**Please review or PM me! Give me some ideas 'cause I'm running low on inspiration, as I said before! Stay Rossome ;)! EnvyNV out!**


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